Remarks upon Fused Charcoal. 149 
gested by results and phenomena so unexpected ; particu- 
larly, I have been very anxious to examine, by the obvious 
and decisive means which chemistry affords, aé/ the varie- 
ties of melted matter which I obtained, and I have been 
desirous that my experiments should be repeated in their 
full exient by others; of course, I can have no objection 
to a fair examination of any part of the subject, and [ am 
glad to see Prof Vanuxem or any other man of science en- 
gaged inthe inquiry. His results are in point, as to the 
particular specimen, which he examined, except that he 
omitted the precautions necessary to ascertain whether 
carbon was present. 1! must be allowed to say however, 
that the conclusions he has drawn, and the opinions he has 
expressed, appear to me too broad, for the basis upon 
which they are erected, and although he had succeeded in 
proving that the specimen, which he examined contained 
no fused carbon, it by no means follows that other speci- 
mens might not have consisted principally or wholly of this 
substance, and it would have seemed to me on every ground, 
more desirable, to have made more extended and varied 
experiments, and to have foreborne to decide, from the 
examination of. one very minute portion, that a conc.usion 
founded on hundreds of experiments, was erroneous. 
My own opinion is, that among the fused substances 
which I obtained, some were composed principally of for- 
eign matter, and others of carbon in a state of as great pu- 
rity, as it could be afforded by the substance under exam~ 
ination, nor shall I consider these opinions as disproved, 
until a course of experiments, as extensive as my own, is in- 
stituted and all the varieties of melted matter rigorously 
examined. ' , : 
In the present state of my health, it is impossible to say 
when I shall be able to resume the inquiry. 
B. SILLIMAN. 
